It was the place where, as a 5-year-old, he would run around the end zone in mock celebration, and the place where he began to discover his athletic potential. It was also the place where he received an abrupt lesson about choice and consequence.

It was Sept. 1998, and Birkley had just started his freshman year at De La Salle. A member of the freshman football team, he was watching a varsity game when he received an unexpected phone call.

“We’ve got your dad in custody,” an unfamiliar voice said. “You’re not going to see him for a while.”

Agents from the Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested Birkley’s father, Dain, on suspicion of manufacturing methamphetamine, possession for sale and conspiracy. In that moment, Birkley’s existence changed. The path meandered, eventually leading him to the Central Valley Coyotes and Joe O’Brien, a coach who once walked a similar tightrope.

“I could relate to (Joe) right off the bat,” said Birkley, a defensive end with the Coyotes. “At the end of the day, it comes down to the addictiveness of certain drugs and how they can help you in certain aspects and ruin you personally. You know you’re messing up the whole time, but there are only so many things that can stop the cycle. Incarceration is one; death is another. That was the wake-up call.”

Dain Birkley, a Walnut Creek-based lawyer, was eventually sentenced to 12 years in jail for his involvement in meth. His son was pulled away from De La Salle, bouncing from one family to the next, before settling in Kentucky with his mother, Connie. Football remained a constant for Birkley, who played collegiately at UC Davis.

“It definitely could’ve tanked (my life),” he said. “I’ve never been involved in anything along those lines. Once you see what it can do to you, that specific drug, if you get involved, you have some problems. I wanted to stay out of it.”

When O’Brien, a Pittsburg High School graduate, joined the Coyotes’ staff this season, Birkley was unaware of his past involvement with drugs. He knew O’Brien had a solid reputation as a defensive line coach, but after a quick Google search he learned the rest — the arrest for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, the suspension from Montana State and the eventual four-year prison sentence.

For Birkley, the information represented common ground, a place where player and coach could relate. He found an old newspaper article that detailed his father’s troubles and showed it to O’Brien.

“It didn’t shock me because nothing shocks me,” O’Brien said. “Drugs are from all different walks of life. You’re always looking for those people on the posters who are skinny and have no teeth. His dad made half a million dollars a year.”

Over time, Birkley and O’Brien got closer, their bond shaped not only by their pasts but by their gridiron experiences. Both thrived on the field despite being undersized for their positions, and both are in Fresno where their love of the game, not money, trumps all. Birkley gets $250 for every Coyotes’ win and $200 for every loss.

“He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached,” O’Brien said. “He’s been lost in the shuffle throughout his career. I don’t know if anyone’s told him he could be great, but I saw myself in him. I knew he could be great.”

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